\[Rosco’s POV\]
Later, I sit with Denali as she hums softly to Serenity, who is fast asleep. Despite myself, I find my eyes traveling down to her tiny wrist, which holds the mark of the curse that is plaguing us, and before I can stop it, a growl is escaping me.
“Ssssshhhhh,” Denali whispers, giving me a look. “You’re going to wake her.”
“Sorry,” I sigh, snuggling up to Denali’s side. “I just wish I could be the one carrying that fucking mark instead of Serenity.”
“I do as well.” Denali admits kissing me. “But I’m positive that you and the others will protect her with everything you’ve got.”
Nodding, I prepare to say that was exactly what I was intending, but stop as Denali’s phone begins to go off.
Frowning, I reach out and grab it, then pass it to Denali.
“Text message.” She murmurs, swiping up the screen and then clicking on the message on the screen. “Who…”
She doesn’t finish her sentence as her eyes grow wide from shock and her hand begins to shake.
“What is it?” I growl, grabbing the phone from her and examining the message on the screen.
Meet me at Boar’s Head Tavern. I may know what it is that you need.
A.
“No fucking way.” I growl, slamming the phone back on the table beside me. “There’s no fucking way that I’ll let you go to her. How the hell does she even know what is going on right now?”
I didn’t need to question who sent the message. There was only one sneaky bitch still roaming around freely. However, if she was aware of what it was that we were seeking, didn’t that mean that she was already in touch with Roger?
“I won’t let you…”
“But this could help us uncover the truth.” Denali counters. “We can’t just let this opportunity pass us.”
"Yes, we can.” I counter. “Who is to say that we won’t end up being attacked when we meet?”
Honestly, if Anastasia wanted to meet with Denali, then I would go in her place. There was no fucking way I was going to let that woman anywhere near my woman.
“I’ll go.” I announce, beginning to get off the bed but stopping as Denali reaches out and grabs me.
“I should be the one to go.” She counters. “If you stroll in there, there is no telling whether or not she will end up running.”
“Then text her back and tell her you won’t be coming.” I snap. “Or better yet, I’ll do it for you!”
“Wait!” She gasps. “I think I have an idea.”
“And what might that be?” I ask. “If it involves you going again, then you can just...”
“Elise,” Denali says, cutting me off. “She doesn’t realize that Elise isn’t me.”
For a moment, I don’t speak as I consider what she has suggested. I couldn’t deny that she was right in saying that Anastasia didn’t know the difference between her and Elise; after all, she blamed Denali for shoving her down the stairs when it was actually Elise.
“Do you think she will go along with it?” I ask, not really trusting that flaky woman to agree to anything.
“I think if it gets us one step closer to getting rid of the threat against our pack and family, she will agree.”
“Alright then,” I sigh.
Personally, I was much more fine with this idea than with Denali running into danger. But I still didn’t really trust Elise to go along with what we were asking since she was already busy with other things.
“I’ll ask her.” I finally say. “You just stay here and relax.”
\[Elise’s POV\]
I sit on the front steps of Emerald Moon’s packhouse, staring at the stars and moon above. Since I was already done packing, I decided to get some fresh air to rid my head of unnecessary things. However, no matter how hard I try to push the image of that fucking building away, it stays with me.
Sighing, I sit back just as the door behind me opens. Tilting my head back, I watch as Rosco approaches me. When he takes a seat beside me, I consider getting up and running, but my curiosity gets the best of me.
“Why are you here?” I ask, peeking at him through my peripheral. “Checking to make sure I’m not fleeing?”
“I have a request.” He says, putting me on alert.
“Another?” I huff. “Don’t you already have me doing a shit ton of things?”
I was to be a guard, investigate the cloaked bastards and my bastard father, help William find all the enemies behind Crystal Fang’s walls, and help get rid of the threat to Emerald Moon. How many people did he think I was, to be able to do so many damn things?
“I know that I’m asking a lot,” he continues, giving me the heebie jeebies due to how gentle he is being. “But this is important.”
“It must be for you to be talking to me like that.” I say. “You’re giving me the creeps.”
“Watch it,” he warns, allowing a resemblance of the big lug I’ve grown to know to appear. “I wouldn’t even be bothering if there was any other choice.”
“What is it?” I ask, just wanting to get this conversation over with. “Spit it out and go back to being the asshole I know you to be.”
Growing quiet, I wait as Rosco takes me in. Despite myself, I feel slight stirrings of the painful sting his rejection left me with.
“Denali received a message from someone.” He explains.
“Was it another man?” I ask. “Are you here to ask me to seduce him so that he doesn’t bother your woman?”
“If it was some other bastard, I’d kill him with my own two hands.” He counters. “It was from her stepsister.”
Stepsister. Stepsister. Have I ever met this woman? Remaining silent, I try to remember the people I met in the past until, finally, I remember.
“You mean the cheating bitch who claimed she was carrying Alexander’s baby?”
If I remember correctly, she caught me and Alexander together, and in order to make me look bad so that Alexander would stay with her, she sacrificed her own baby.
“Yes, that’s her.” Rosco confirms. “The one you shoved down the stairs in the past.”
“Shoved?” I repeat with a laugh. “I did no such thing. She purposely did that to try to ruin me because she found me with her man.”
“Purposely.” He repeats, his brows furrowing. “Are you saying that Anastasia did that to herself to try to frame Denali?”
“Denali?” I laugh. “Well, I guess she did think I was her at that time. Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. That bitch is great at playing the victim, but she’s disgusting. Who the fuck would kill a child like that due to her own greed?”
As I speak, Rosco eyes me with an expression I can’t quite read. And before I can even figure out what it is he is thinking, his mask of indifference comes back.
“You know,” he says slowly. “Maybe we’ve all misjudged you.”
“Ugh,” I grimace, not liking the gentleness in his tone. “Don’t go soft on me. Forget about me and tell me the time and place I have to meet the drama queen.”